Jimmie Johnson smacks wall in final Charlotte practice
CONCORD, N.C. -- If practice counts much - and there's some debate in those circles -- the rich got richer in Friday's practice rounds for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 Chase for the Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Joey Logano, already locked into the third round of the Chase, was second in Friday's first practice and led the nightcap, underlining the Team Penske No. 22 Ford's strength.
On the other end of the scale, six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 12th and last in the Chase standings, found a bump in the road late in the second practice, whacking the outside wall near turn three and damaging the right side of his No. 48 Chevrolet.
PHOTOS: 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup field
Johnson was fast - eighth overall - in that session before the incident.
Johnson said he 'ran out of racetrack. Just got in there too hot, slipped up and scratched the right side of the car.'
Johnson, who described the damage to the car as superficial, said he was exploring an alternate lane near the wall because he'll be starting 21st Saturday.
'That's why I'm hanging on the wall,' he said. 'Got to find a different lane. If I sit there and try to run the bottom with everybody, I'm going to be junk and just kind of trapped. So I've been working bottom, middle, top, just making sure my car has got a nice balance between all three lanes and I've been able to produce lap times doing so. Trying to cover all my bases - I've got to go forward tomorrow night.'
Ironically, Logano doesn't really need the speed he showed Friday, and Johnson really needs a pristine car.
Logano can coast through Saturday's race and next week's event at Talladega Superspeedway because he has a reserved spot in the third round regardless of those results. Johnson, however, is backed into a corner and is in danger of missing a shot at his seventh championship.
The 12 Chase contenders were sprinkled through the first practice. Non-Chaser Kurt Busch ran 191.157 mph to lead the way. Logano was second, followed by Chasers Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Ford drivers Carl Edwards (sixth) and Brad Keselowski (seventh) also were strong.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who also needs a rebound to advance to the next round, was 11th in the first practice and 14th in the second.
Following Logano in the second session were Kurt Busch, Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Keselowski.
The slowest Chasers were pole-sitter Kyle Busch (29th) in the first practice and Ryan Newman (20th) in the second.
Kasey Kahne, on the bubble in ninth place, was 12th and 19th in practice, respectively.
Kahne, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson are the drivers in the final four spots in the standings. Eight of the 12 Chase contenders will advance to the next round, with Logano the only qualifier to date. Victories by Chase drivers automatically move them into the next round.
Contributing: Jeff Gluck
Post a Comment for "Jimmie Johnson smacks wall in final Charlotte practice"